The Capital of Indonesia is Moving
Indonesia The planning minister announced that the capital of the country, Jakarta, will be relocated.
Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro stated that President Joko Widodo “decided to change the location of the capital with an important decision. The new location of the capital is not yet known. However, state-owned broadcasters are one of the important cities that may become the new capital.” Borneo He stated that it is Palangkraya located on the island.
In addition, Jakarta, which is home to more than 10 million people, rapidly sinks under the water due to its geographical structure.
General elections were held in the country at the beginning of April. At the end of the elections, President Joko Widodo, who decided to move the capital, declared victory. However, the official results of the elections will be announced on 22 May.
Why Are They Moving The Capital?
The idea of moving the capital has come up many times since Jakarta gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1945. A 2016 study found that Jakarta has the worst traffic in the world. Long police convoys accompany ministers’ vehicles by shutting down traffic so that ministers can reach their meetings on time.
The planning minister says traffic congestion in Jakarta costs the economy 100 trillion rupees each year. 100 trillion rupees means 6.8 million dollars, 5.4 million dollars.
There was a large program implemented in the last 20 years to change the central structure of the government. The aim was to provide municipalities with greater political power and financial resources.
The City Has a Risk of Sinking Under the Water
Jakarta is under the world’s fastest-sinking cities: Researchers believe that large parts of the megacity could remain completely underground by 2050. North Jakarta has sunk 2.5 meters deep in the past 10 years and continues to be submerged an average of 1 to 15 centimeters each year.
Why is Jakarta the capital city of Indonesia Sinking?
The city of Jakarta was founded on the soft soil coastal zone through which 13 rivers pass. Almost half of the charcoal is now below sea level. One of the main reasons for this is the withdrawal of groundwater used for drinking and washing purposes.
According to the BBC Indonesia correspondent, Indonesians are skeptical of the possibility of their capital relocation. The public has heard about this plan many times before, but none of Indonesia’s previous 6 presidents were able to put the plan into action. However, President Joko Widodo is a President who has been able to make large infrastructure investments during his 5-year term. Therefore, Widodo is also seen as a politician who can implement the decision to move the capital.
Indonesia has an extremely diverse population structure. Hundreds of different ethnic groups live in thousands of islands of the country. However, economic development, national cultural identity, and political power have always been held by the Java culture. In Indonesia, a non-Javan president has never been elected. Most of the country’s wealth is concentrated in the capital Jakarta, located in the Java region.
Outside of Java, Indonesians, particularly those living in the eastern part of the country, have long complained that they have been forgotten by the country’s leaders who live in the Java region. In this sense, the capital’s move from Java contains a strong message of political transformation in the country.
New Capital: What Are The Options?
At a closed cabinet meeting, President Widodo was presented with 3 options for the new capital and discussed. One is to create closed and safe zones for government offices in Jakarta, the current capital. The second is to move the capital just outside of Jakarta. The third option, preferred by president Widodo, is to build a new capital on another island. The strongest candidate, according to rumors, of these islands is Palangkaraya, located in the Indonesian part of Borneo, hundreds of kilometers northeast of central Kalimantan. Although geographically close to the center of the archipelago, this is where Indonesia’s founding father Sukarno also proposed the establishment of the capital.
There are various reactions towards the calm Palangkaraya becoming the new capital of the country. Speaking on this subject, a young high school student said: “I hope our city will develop and the education will be as good as in Jakarta. But all the empty spaces and forests in Palangkaraya will now be used. I am afraid that we will lose the Kalimantan Forest, the lungs of the world, and the forest we have left.”
Planning minister Brodjonegro spoke after President Widodo said that economic development would be more evenly distributed across the country. The minister states that the process could take 10 years.
Brodjonegro says that if other countries have been able to do this, we can too: “Brazil, Rio de Janeiro moved to Brazil, next to the Amazon river. Canberra look at Sydney and Melbourne was built between. Kazakhstan the capital of the center of the country Myanmar moved its capital to Naypyidaw. “
